| d guidance from and expert looking over our | | | | accurate data has a negative impact on the |
| shoulder would be welcomed by most of us as | | | | bottom line impacting the quick settlement of |
| we work our way through the complex | | | | claims and increasing the need for expensive |
| processes required in interactions with customers | | | | re-work! |
| in today's world ' but few, if any, organizations | | | | It is often said that it takes three years to train a |
| can afford that luxury, even if they could find | | | | Patient Registrar and yet the average time in the |
| enough experts! | | | | job is only two years! |
| For most organisations reducing costs means less | | | | Even experienced registrars have a challenge in |
| people and very often training is an early casualty; | | | | keeping up with changing requirements and new |
| the people who are left are expected to do more | | | | processes - such as estimating the cost of the |
| with fewer resources - and with less or even in | | | | procedure and then how to ask the patient to |
| some extreme cases no training. | | | | make a payment for the treatment they are to |
| The impact of this can have a serious impact on | | | | receive. |
| the business - particularly when interactions with | | | | Solutions to this problem require creative |
| customers depend on specialist knowledge and | | | | thinking............. |
| processes and the customer experience fails to | | | | One solution to this challenge is to build decision |
| live up to expectations when staff are poorly | | | | support tools which are integrated with the main |
| equipped to provide a high quality service. | | | | registration system (HIS) to provide help and |
| Many of the systems used by customer-facing | | | | support to the registrar to enable them register |
| staff are complex to operate and require a high | | | | the patient as quickly and efficiently as possible |
| level of specialist knowledge - which means the | | | | with no errors. To be effective these decision |
| users need training before they are really | | | | support tools need to be: |
| effective. Mis-use of the systems results not only | | | | Integrated with the Hospital Information system |
| in a poor experience for the customer but also | | | | The decision support tools should be integrated |
| has a negative impact on the business when the | | | | with the (HIS) to avoid the error prone and boring |
| quality and accuracy of the data collected during | | | | need for re-keying data once a decision has been |
| the customer interaction deteriorates. | | | | reached |
| A good example of complex processes and | | | | Capable of quick updating as necessary |
| systems is the registration of patients at U.S. | | | | The guidance needs to be kept fresh and |
| hospitals which require a high level of specialist | | | | relevant by the subject experts - not IT! |
| knowledge and skill in using the hospital information | | | | Fast and responsive |
| system (HIS) patient access screens and the | | | | The virtual expert needs to be there when |
| collection of the payment for the services | | | | necessary without slowing down the system or |
| provided relies on getting accurate information into | | | | the interaction with the patient. |
| the system. However, Patient Registration staff | | | | The hospital patient registration process is only |
| are often entry level employees and are | | | | one example of the many systems which can be |
| operating in a very stressful environment where | | | | improved by using a Virtual Expert sitting at the |
| they are expected to register the patient quickly | | | | shoulder of the agent and any system which |
| and accurately and also deal with a variety of | | | | relies upon the user to input data during an |
| systems to get the revenue cycle data collected | | | | interaction with a customer can be supplemented |
| and into the (HIS) system. Failure to collect | | | | by the use this type of decision support tools. |